Resilience
by loanshark
Summary: Youko learns of the state of her Horai family, and tries to hide her distress from Keiki…


**Title: **Resilience

**Genre: **Angst, General

**Rating: **PG / K+

**Disclaimer: **Juuni Kokki does not in any way belong to me. Only the story line is mine…

**Warnings: **Have tried to keep to the book as closely as possible, but might still contain some discrepancies. Can possibly be taken as Keiki/Youko if you wish…

**Summary: **Youko learns of the state of her Horai family, and tries to hide her distress from Keiki…

**Themes: **Based very loosely on the Juuni Kokki themes of 今は亡き者 (someone who has passed away) and 涙の数だけ・・・ (only the number of tears…)

* * *

It started with a simple wish.

Having left Horai for close to thirty years, it seemed natural that Nakajima Youko would start to think about her Horai family. In the first few years that she took the throne of Kei, she had been far too confused with the events unfolding to be bothered about her first home. Governing a country was no easy job for anyone, let alone a 16-year-old girl with barely any knowledge of politics.

Then the revolution at Takuho had occurred, and she had taken part, finding her footing and suppressing any further attempts to create a puppet out of her in one fell swoop. With trusted friends and teachers around her, she knew that she had people to rely on for advice and guidance whenever she needed it.

The next decades were a rush of pulling the Kingdom back from the brink of death. It took time, but at last they were facing an era where no one had to fear starvation in winter, or drowning during the spring rains. The Kingdom of Kei was still a far cry from what En was like, but then again, that latter Kingdom had had a 500-year head start.

As she was considering all this late one night while preparing to go to bed, Youko's eyes fell onto her sword. _Suiguu-to_; the only other thing besides Jyouyuu that had constantly been by Youko's side ever since she landed in this world, and the one thing that she would definitely keep by her side for the rest of her life. It allowed its user to look into the past, the future, and at far away places, and while she still could not master it completely, her chances of seeing what she wanted to see was now far greater than it had been many years previously.

Youko stared at her sword even as she made her way to her bed. She should not be doing this; should not now be having thoughts of Horai. Back when she had listened to the Kirin's vow to her for the second time, after she had rescued him from the false Queen Joei, she had formally replied "_yurusu_", and in that moment she gave up all her connections with Horai. This was her world now, and Kei was her responsibility, and she would not abandon them for anything.

_But just once_, something in her whispered. _Just to see how they are doing; find out if everything is alright…_

She succumbed to the lure of that voice, walking over to bring the sword down from its stand. Then she removed its sheath and stared at the blade.

_I wish to see my family in Horai_, she thought, and immediately the blade began to glow a faint blue, while the now-familiar water drops sounded through the room…

* * *

His Empress seemed slightly out of sorts that day.

He had noticed it from the moment he saw her, when he met her before they proceeded to attend the morning meeting. She had seemed rather pale and worried, as though something of immense importance was troubling her.

When he asked after her, she just waved him off, blaming a lack of sleep. "I haven't woken up yet," she said calmly, "give me a bit of time, and I'll be fine."

But Keiki held on to his worry, even more so as the morning passed, and he stood beside her throne. Youko was different from many other rulers in that she often voiced out her opinions during this morning meetings, when tradition dictated that the ruler need not talk directly to the officials. That day, after the initial address, she just sat quietly with a vacant look in her eyes, letting her officials talk. Keiki could not help but suspect that she was not even listening to what was being said.

The meeting finally came to an end, and Youko left the room, heading back to her own private quarters as though in a daze. Keiki caught up with her half-way, calling her quietly.

"Your Highness, are you feeling alright? Is anything the matter?"

"Honestly, you worry too much, Keiki." Even from the side the Kirin could see the wan smile on Youko's face, and his eyes narrowed. "I've already told you, I'm fine. There's nothing to be anxious about."

He watched as she continued on, frowning slightly. If she would not tell him then there was nothing he could do, but for now he vowed to keep a closer eye on his Empress.

Simply because without her, Kei would fall.

* * *

Youko sat at her desk, staring at the document in front of her. Over the thirty years that she had been in this land, she had finally learned most of the words that the people used, and no longer needed Keiki to read documents to her. The one demanding her attention now was a record of the budget of the Royal Army for the last year. It was something of relative unimportance – all she really needed to do was to skim through it and then add her stamp to it. Unfortunately, her mind was not even up to work of this standard right then.

Her eyes were not registering the words written before her; instead, images flashed through her mind. Images of a beautiful spring day, of a woman leaving a house, of a car driving along the road, and then –

She shook her head, trying to clear the images, but it did no good. _Suiguu-to_ had, for once, done what it was supposed to do, and only too well. Now all that remained was for her to confirm that what it had shown her was really true.

But she could not think of any way to do this. Keiki knew nothing of Horai, and as En-Taiho had once told her, bringing anyone but a Kirin through the _shoku_ could devastate the land. That simply meant that she herself could not go to Horai.

Besides, if she suddenly disappeared from the country again, there might be chaos. Kei had not quieted down to the extent that everyone placed their complete trust in the Queen. Three generations of short-lived, useless Queens were hard times to forget and easily let go of.

That left only one other person, but Youko did not have the slightest clue whether a favour such as this would be granted. After all, she had nothing to do with him at all, and while they were friends, his allegiance was foremost to his King and Kingdom.

But she could only try. Quickly grabbing a fresh sheet of parchment and a brush, she hastily wrote a short message on it, then called a maidservant.

"Use one of the birds, and help me send this to En. Do not tell anyone of this letter; I would rather not have anyone worrying when it is my own personal business."

The maid bowed, and walked away. With a sigh, Youko went back to staring at the document on her desk. There was nothing left to do but wait.

* * *

By the end of the week, Keiki was feeling decidedly more than worried.

His Empress' supposed lack of sleep had extended beyond that first day to every other day after that. Work took twice its normal time to be completed, and her reflexes were becoming slower than before. The _Kaikyaku_, Suzu, had come to him respectfully just the day before to ask if he knew what was wrong, because she had found Youko gazing out of the window and had to call her a total of five times before any response came.

_If only I knew_, he thought to himself ruefully. He was not one for small talk, and even if Taiki had taught him to be more careful of others' feelings, it didn't mean that he felt comfortable with such things. Human emotions, he had found with Yo-Ou, was a field fraught with mines, where each step could land one into excruciating pain and agony.

He did not want what happened with Yo-Ou to happen with this Empress.

But simply being a Kirin meant that he could not ignore another's plight, let alone the Empress he had sworn loyalty to. If dealing with his own discomfort meant that she would regain her usual vigour and cheerfulness, then he would gladly do so.

_If she lets me_, he added to himself as he walked the path that would lead him to the Empress' study. He had learned over the years that Youko was as stubborn as he was, and could well defeat anyone in a battle of wills if she wanted to. Seldom did she show this trait to anyone at first, preferring instead to listen to all different sides and consider points of view other than her own. But once she made her decision, no amount of complaining from her officials could make her change her mind.

She had changed greatly from the girl who followed everything her officials said.

Knocking gently on her door, he opened it following her call of "enter", and then stared. Of all sights, this at least was not what he had been expecting.

_Suiguu-to_ occupied a place on a stand that hung on the wall of the Empress' room, and it was forbidden that anyone be allowed to touch it without her permission. During times such as these, there was no reason to bring it down, and even the quelling of rebellions and the like was usually undertaken by the army, and not the ruler herself. As such, the sword remained in its honoured position for most of an Empress' rule.

Right now, however, the sword was down, and in the hands of the Empress herself. There was no glow from it, so she was not summoning any vision. As Keiki walked closer, he found it unsheathed, and his Empress fiddling with it.

Turning the blade round and round, contemplating it carefully, before continuing to shift it in her hands. It was as if she was just playing with it.

Youko looked up with a start as he approached her desk, her expression betraying her surprise at someone having walked into the study without her knowing; as though her acknowledgement that Keiki enter had been a mere instinct instead of a thought through command. Keiki observed as she hurriedly sheathed the sword, and then leaned it against her desk. It was as if she would return to it the moment he left the room.

With a mental sigh, he bowed to her before speaking. "Your Highness, I require your seal for these documents."

"Ah…sure, that isn't a problem." Without meeting his eyes, she reached out her hand to take them from him. It was only when he did not pass them to her that she looked up in surprise. "Keiki?"

_At last_, he thought, meeting her gaze and holding it. Placing the documents on her desk, he took another step closer to her. "Your Highness, can't you tell me what is wrong?"

She looked away again, towards her desk. Picking up the documents he had put there, she shook her head. "It's nothing, Keiki, really."

"It can't be nothing," the Kirin urged. "Your Highness does not seem to have taken proper rest for so many days; if there is a problem can cause you to lose sleep for so long, then it must be important. Won't you tell me what it is, so that I can help?"

The Empress sighed, and finally gazed up at him again. "Keiki, I'm afraid that there is nothing you can do right now," she said firmly. "This…isn't something that you will be able to help me with."

Keiki recoiled slightly at the answer. He was just about to take his leave when a knock came to the door, and at Youko's command, a messenger entered. "There is a visitor for you, Your Highness."

Emerald eyes brightened, and then Youko turned to take her outer robe from the chair. "I'll return those documents to you later today, if that's fine with you, Keiki? I think you need not come with me to meet this person; I shall be fine on my own."

He nodded his assent, and made his way behind her out of the study. Turning to take the path back to his own rooms, he paused to look after his Empress, and then suddenly turned to follow her quietly.

He had to admit that curiosity was eating at him; after all, his Empress seemed to know exactly who this person was, and was happy to see him. If he had to do with the problem that had been plaguing her for so long, then Keiki wished to know who he was.

He reached the door of the visitors hallway just in time to here a familiar voice say, "Kei-Ou."

And the name that ran coldly through his head was the same that Youko mentioned: "En-Taiho."

* * *

"En-Taiho, thank you for coming," Youko greeted the other with a smile.

The day after the Youko's message had been sent to En, the bird had brought back a message from the Taiho. It would be easy to find what she sought after in Horai, and when he returned, he would come to deliver the news himself.

Rokuta smiled before seating himself back on the chair he had been occupying before Youko came in. Then he regarded her solemnly for a moment before speaking.

"I'm afraid that _Suiguu-to_ tells you the truth."

Youko closed her eyes briefly for a while before nodding. "I thought it did; I just wanted to confirm it. Thank you for all your effort, En-Taiho."

"It's nothing," the bright golden-haired Kirin replied, almost flippantly. Then he sobered again. "I'm very sorry."

Youko shook her head. "No, it's alright. After all, it's already been thirty years since I left, and she was not that young when she gave birth to me."

"Still, in that way…" Rokuta trailed off as he saw the look of despair on Youko's face. With a suddenness that left the Empress startled, he changed the subject. "Where's Keiki?"

"Ah…in his room I suppose. I told him that he did not need to come meet you…he doesn't know that it is you anyway."

"He doesn't?" For a while, Rokuta looked surprised, and then comprehension dawned on his face. "Youko, you did not tell Keiki about this?"

Youko shook her head almost abashedly. She dared not tell Rokuta that it was because she was afraid Keiki would scold her about it. That he would look at her and give those long-suffering sighs like he used to do when she first took the throne. That he would do so because she was thinking about Horai, a land that had absolutely nothing to do with her rule here.

A part of her was certain that her fears would not be played out; that Keiki would listen and understand. After all, wasn't he already showing concern at the way she seemed so tired lately? Wasn't he going out of his way to ask after her, and trying to share her burden with her?

But the bulk of her feelings were still of fear, and the wish to stay on Keiki's good side. After so many years, his thoughts still mattered greatly, and had even grown in importance to her. It was not so much that he represented the wishes of the people, but more because he was the one who had chosen her, and had stayed by her throughout all her years in this land.

Rokuta looked at her quietly for a while before remarking almost casually. "Do you know, Youko, when I first met Shouryuu, I did not want him to become King? I hated the idea of Kings because I believed that Kings brought war to the world, and war brought pain and suffering to people, and especially to children. It didn't help that I had suffered that way in Horai, when my own village was burned down."

Youko nodded. She had heard this story before, though not from the protagonists themselves. Rokuta, seeing her affirmation, went on.

"Even though I didn't want to, I swore my loyalty to him. As Kirin, we cannot go against _Tentei_, and so I brought him back and braced myself to see En erupt into war. But over time, even though there were rebellions and people did die, I realised that Shouryuu was more than just a guy interested in wars. It took some time, but slowly I learned to trust and understand his ways."

The Kirin looked at her carefully, before proceeding. "Keiki does trust you, you know. I'll be the first to admit that he needs some work on expressing himself and what he thinks, but deep down, all Kirin trust and try to understand their masters. Even if their master loses the Way and _Shitsudou_ comes to the Kirin, they will hope with all their heart that the master turns back to the right Way again. Perhaps it's because we are the ones who receive Heaven's Will, so we know that at the beginning, this person was suitable to become the ruler."

Rokuta sighed before leaning back in his chair again. His voice suddenly went back to its usual, impolite tones. "But in the end, it's up to you whether you want to tell him or not! I tell you, that guy really needs a lot of work on those facial muscles. He's just like Shouryuu, just that both of them are on either extremes of the mood chart! Just remember though, if others find out that you've been consulting the Kirin of En instead of the Kirin of Kei, they might start wondering which country you're being loyal to. Then both you and Keiki will be in quite a bit of trouble."

Youko chuckled slightly at the discourse, before standing and bowing slightly to Rokuta. "Thank you again, En-Taiho. Are you going to be staying for the day?"

The Kirin shook his head even as he stood and stretched. "No, I've got to get back to En. I'll like to find Keiki though…I received some news from the _sennin_ at Mount Ho that might interest him."

Youko just nodded, before beckoning the other to follow her as she led him through the hallways.

* * *

A knock sounded on his door before a voice called out, "Kei-Taiho, may I come in?"

He thought of refusing entry, but to do so would be impolite, and rudeness had never sat well with him, no matter how his fellow Kirin acted. So he just schooled his features into one of neutrality, and then called the other in.

His door opened and closed again before En-Taiho would look up at him, meeting his gaze. He stood and nodded to the older Kirin. "En-Taiho," he greeted politely.

"Kei-Taiho," came the reply, together with a raised eyebrow. "You don't seem too surprised to see me."

_Although_, Rokuta thought to himself, _if Keiki is really surprised, chances are there won't be any difference in his expression at all. _Keiki was brutally honest, as the _sennin_ at Mount Ho often said, in everything but his facial expressions.

This time, however, Rokuta was correct in his assumption. Keiki shook his head slowly, almost reluctantly. "I overheard you greeting Her Highness before I came back here just now."

"Ah," was the response, followed by a slight sigh as Rokuta leaned his weight against the desk. "No wonder you aren't happy."

_Not happy_ was an understatement of Keiki's feelings, although he did not voice this. If his Empress wanted to take counsel with others, than that was her choice. But it hurt slightly to know that there was something which he could not help with, while the Kirin of En could.

Rokuta observed his fellow Kirin for a little while, before shrugging. "Actually, what I helped her with is something that you probably won't have been able to do. But," he added, holding up a hand to forestall Keiki's protests, "from now on, I can't do anything anymore. It's up to her whether she wants to tell you what all this is about. I'd advice you, though, to be a bit more understanding with her, like the way you were with Taiki. She's…not going through a very good time."

He stopped, and Keiki knew that En-Taiho would not say anymore. With a nod of understanding, he watched as the other stood up with a grin.

"Well then, I'll be off, otherwise Shouryuu is going to kill his officials by pushing all of his work to them. If you need anything else, you know where to find us!"

So saying, he walked towards the balcony of Keiki's study, and with a jaunty wave, summoned Rikahu, climbed onto him and flew off towards En.

Keiki watched him go with mixed feelings. There was still hurt, but as he thought things through, there was really only one main difference between himself and En-Taiho, and that would be the fact that En-Taiho was a _Taika_ – which meant that his Empress had been facing problems to do with Horai.

But surely she could tell him that! Why had she wanted to hide it from him?

_Be a bit more understanding_, En-Taiho had said. _Like the way you were with Taiki_.

Taiki was the one being who had managed to break through the thick walls around Keiki's feelings. No one else had ever been able to do so, besides the natural inclination of a Kirin to its master or mistress. Beyond that, there was nothing else that Keiki could feel towards Yo-Ou, especially not after _Shitsudou_ came to him.

En-Taiho's words made Keiki wonder if, perhaps, this time would be different.

* * *

Youko waited until she had reached her study and closed the door shut behind her before allowing her expression of calm to break.

She had been hoping; had been hoping with all her heart that _Suiguu-to_ had been lying to her. Even though she knew it was near impossible for the sword to show her something untrue, still she hoped. And even as she hoped, she had tried to will images back to the blade of the sword.

But the images never came. Youko suspected it was because her will was not strong enough – there was some part of her that believed the sword was true, and did not want to see the pictures again.

Even so, it made no difference whether she saw them on the sword or not. As she leaned against the door, the images came unbidden to her mind, flashing before her eyes like a fast-paced movie. A woman leaving the house and walking along the road. A car travelling along that same road. And then –

Youko rubbed her eyes hard, as though doing so would dispel the pictures before her. She quickly moved away from the door, towards her desk. But even sitting down and looking over the documents that Keiki had given her several hours earlier could not stop her mind from wandering.

Abruptly, she flung the papers to the side, then sank down onto the table, cradling her head in her arms. For the rest of the day she sat that way, shoulders shaking with silent sobs.

* * *

It was much later that night when another knock sounded on his door, and the person who entered was Gyoukuyou, his Empress' chief maidservant. The elderly lady looked worried even as she bowed to him.

"Taiho," she said softly. "I'm sorry to bother you, but I thought it best to tell you that Her Highness has refused to let anyone in to see her, and has not come out for the whole afternoon."

Keiki raised an eyebrow in question. While he had never heard of his Empress doing the former, the latter often happened whenever she had too much work to do that day.

"Taiho," Gyoukuyou added, this time worry clearly showing in her voice. "Her Highness has not eaten since lunch. When I brought her dinner, she told me to leave it outside, but when I went by later, it was still there. I tried to enter, but it seemed that she had barred the door."

Keiki stood in alarm. _That_ was certainly not normal for this Empress, who would never miss a meal for the sole reason that she often invited other people to join her. It was not for the food per se, but for the company that she had during meal times.

"How long ago was this?" he asked severely even as he walked around her to leave his room.

"Several hours," came the reply from the lady following him. "I thought to check on her again, but I could not find her, so I came to you."

Keiki nodded absently as he walked, his long strides quickly covering the distance between his room and the inner Palace. Thoughts ran rampant through his mind. Surely nothing had happened to her, right? He could still sense her aura strongly, meaning that she was physically alright. But emotionally –

Keiki did not know, and not knowing was making him more worried than he would have liked to be.

He followed his senses as he walked, feeling the pull of that aura, and letting it lead. He was just about to round the corner that led directly to her bedroom when a scream pierced the air.

It came from the direction that he was heading in. With only that thought in mind, he broke into a run, completely forgetting about the lady that followed behind him. Reaching her bedroom, he pulled open the doors, disregarding decorum in favour of his worry. "Your Highness!" he called out anxiously.

The eyes that met his were wide and frantic. They were the same eyes that he had seen back in Horai all those years ago, when he had first met her and insisted that she leave with him – wild, and filled with fear.

She was sitting in her bed, but the drapes were still up. It was as though she had just lain down for a slight rest, but had unwittingly fallen asleep, and then been ripped from sleep by a violent nightmare. Those eyes never left his face even as she panted in the aftermath of her dream.

"Your Highness!" came the worried voice of Gyoukuyou, and that lady pushed past him to stare wide-eyed at the Empress. Gasping quietly, she was about to move forward when Keiki caught her arm.

"Prepare some hot tea for Her Highness," he said firmly, his eyes not once leaving his Empress' face. "And then you might go out to ensure that no one else has been alarmed by this."

"But Taiho…!" she started, before catching the look on the Kirin's face. With an acquiescing nod, she then turned around to do as instructed.

Keiki began to walk slowly towards his Empress. The look in her eyes had not changed, and it seemed as though she was looking past him, into whatever had been haunting her for the past few weeks.

"Your Highness," he called quietly as he reached her side. Her eyes slid up to meet his, and some of the madness in them seemed to flee.

"Keiki?" she asked uncertainly.

The Kirin just nodded. He heard Gyoukuyou bring the pot of tea to the bedside table, and pour out a cup before leaving the room. Only when the door was shut behind her did he pick up the cup.

"Drink," he urged his Empress, holding out the cup to her. She took it from him with slightly trembling hands, putting it to her lips and sipped slowly at first, before downing the entire cup. When she continued to clutch it tightly, he reached over to gently pry it from her fingers before placing it back onto the table.

"Thank you, Keiki," came his Empress' voice. It was weak and scared, belonging to a time period thirty years ago, and not to the present one. He frowned at her next words. "You can go back now, I'll be fine –"

"Your Highness," he interrupted her. "I am only leaving when I'm certain you are feeling alright, and I will only be sure when you have told me what is going on."

He caught her gaze again, trying to show through his eyes the emotions that his words could not convey. She stared back at him, showing her fears, her insecurities – and finally, resignation. Glancing away, she shifted slightly, and then patted the space on her bed beside her.

It was an invitation for Keiki to sit, and the Kirin accepted hesitantly, watching as his Empress drew her knees up and wrapped her arms around them before speaking.

"Actually I found out about this the night before you first asked me if anything was wrong…do you remember?" Without waiting for any reply, she continued. "That night I decided to see how things were in Horai with my family, so I used _Suiguu-to_ to look for them. But instead, all I managed to see were images of my mother's death."

Keiki could not stop the sudden intake of breath at that remark, and as though in response, Youko curled into an even tighter ball. Her next words were almost detached, as though trying to keep any emotion from her voice.

"She had just left the house, and was crossing the road when a speeding car hit her. It was a usual case of careless driving – these things happen all the time in Horai. My mother was sent to the hospital, but she died soon after from excessive blood loss."

The Empress paused to take a deep breath, before whispering her next words. "The last thing she said before she died was my name…"

She looked up at Keiki then, quickly continuing before he could say anything. "I wanted to make sure that all this was really the truth, so I asked En-Taiho if he could possibly help me check the past obituaries whenever he went to Horai. I didn't ask you, because you don't know much about the things there, so you probably wouldn't know what to do. It just so happened that he was about to go to Horai anyway, so he agreed, and this afternoon he came to tell me that it was the truth."

She lapsed into silence again, and Keiki contemplated the story in his mind. One question still remained; he knew it was better to leave it alone at a time like this, but it nagged at him until he could not quite resist.

"Your Highness, why didn't you just tell me?"

His Empress seemed to tense even further at the question, before answering so softly that Keiki had to lean forward to hear her. "I thought that you would be disappointed with me for thinking about Horai; after all, I'm already the Kei-Ou, and I didn't want you to think that I was missing Horai and wanting to go back and just abandon this land…"

The thought of _I didn't want to make you upset with me_ was almost palpable in the ensuing silence, and Keiki just stared at his Empress, his mind churning. Did his thoughts matter that much to this ruler? Certainly, he was the Taiho, second to none save the ruler he chose, but that did not mean that his views were of infinite importance. Or was it because of some other reasons; some other feelings that made her try to hide her pain because she did not wish to cause him any?

_Be a bit more understanding…like you were with Taiki_.

The words that ran through his mind brought with it his decision, and reaching out, he placed a hand on his Empress' shoulder. She flinched slightly, tensing, but did not pull away. Then he spoke as gently as he could.

"Your Highness, it's natural for you to think of your parents. After all, they are the ones who raised you for so many years, and I would have been surprised if you did not think about them at all. Even if you felt that you did not belong there, they are still the ones you are indebted to."

His Empress seemed to weigh his words, and then the shoulder beneath his hand sagged slightly. "Actually, this is the first time I've really thought of them in thirty years. There was just too much work here that held far more importance than my own personal matters, so I only thought of them in passing. Now I just wish I had told them that I'm alive; perhaps passed some note through En-Taiho, or something…"

She was starting to ramble, and Keiki tighten his grip slightly to stop her. "That is all in the past, and you cannot go back to change things. But Your Highness, everyone dies, and –"

"I know that!" she shouted, suddenly angry. "You don't have to –"

He held up his hand, stopping her words while mentally berating himself for choosing the wrong words yet again. "I'm sorry, Your Highness. What I meant to say was that it's alright for you to grieve for this – no one will fault you for doing so at this time."

Youko smiled wanly, her anger fading as quickly as it had come. "Someone told me once that rulers have to be strong, and must never show confusion or weakness to their people."

"But even rulers are still human by nature, and there are always things that will cause sadness to a person," Keiki replied gently.

Youko nodded before burying her head back into her arms. Silence reigned, before Keiki suddenly felt the shoulders beneath his grasp shaking with silent sobs. Even after his words, she would not let go completely, he wondered again at her resilience.

Pondering his options, he finally reached over and placed an arm around her. He felt her tense at the uncharacteristic contact; and then suddenly she leaned into him, burying her face into his clothes.

It was much as Taiki had done, and as with the young Kirin, he brought up his other hand to stroke her hair gently, trying to offer what comfort he could give.

And at last the dam burst, and the tears came…


End file.
